Steady-rest for grinding-machines.



PATENTED JUNE 30, 1903. G. H. NORTON. STEADY REST FOR GRINDING MACHINES.

APPLICATION mum BEPT. 2, 1899.

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, PATENTED JUNE 30, 1903.

0. H. NORTON. STBADY REST FOR GRINDING-MACHINES.

APPLICATION TILED SEPT. 2, 1899.

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No. 7S2,314. l p A Patented .l'une 50,1963 UNITED ST TES P T T OFFICE.

CHARLES H. NORTON, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR TO THE BROWN AND SHARPE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, A CORPORATION OF RHODE ISLAND.

STEADY-REST FOR GRINDING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 732,314, dated June 30, 1903.

Application filed September 2, 1899. Serial No. 729,338. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: will allow the taking of a heavy out without Beit known that I, CHARLES H. NORTON, of vibration or chattering of the work, thus dithe city and county of Providence and State minishing the time required to accurately of Rhode Island, have invented certain new grind a piece to size,and consequently increasand useful Improvements in Steady-Rests for ing the production of the grinding-machine.

Grinding-Machines; and I do hereby declare I have found that to enable a heavy cut to be the following specification, taken in connectaken without vibration or chattering of the tion with the accompanying drawings, formwork the steady-rest should be so constructed ing a part of the same, to be a full, clear, and and arranged that the work may spring away 0 exact description thereof. from the wheel in substantially the same di- The invention relates to steady-rests for use rection that it would spring were the rest not in grinding-machines to hold cylindrical bars present-that is, the rest should act to resist up to the grinding-wheel and steady the same the spring of the shaft without crowding the while being acted onby said wheel. The work work against the wheel-and one feature of 15 as it comes to the grinding-machine is not perthe invention consists in providinga rest confectly cylindrical, but some portions of its sur structed and arranged in such manner. face have greater radii than others,or, in other In cases where a spring has been used to words, the surface is composed of what may hold the bearing-block against the work the be termed highand lowparts,and it has pressure has been exerted 'on the work con- 20 been found desirable to provide the steadystantlythat is, during the finishing cut as rests with cylindrical bearing-surfaces of sufwell as during the heavy first cutsand it has ficient extent to bridge over the low parts, so been impracticable to. grind duplicate work that the high parts only will bear upon the without constant attention and change in the bearing-surface of the rest. It has also been adjustment of the spring by the attendant.

25 found desirable in some cases to hold the A further feature of the invention relates bearingsurface of the rest yieldingly against to means for overcoming this objection and the work, and some steady-rests have been consists in providing a stop for limiting the used in which the bearing-block of the rest is forward movement of the bearing-block. By held against the work by a spring. All the adjusting this stop the position of the bearing- 0 rests, however, so far as I am aware, whether surface of the rest maybe so controlled that the bearing-block is held rigidly or yieldingly, when the piece is finished the bearing-surface have been so constructed that'any spring of will simply engage the surface of the work the work under the action of the grindingwithout pressing it toward the wheel. WVith wheel tends to crowd or wedge the work the bearing-block thus controlled said block 3 5 against the wheel. This wedging or crowdduring the finishing cut acts to simply engage ing action tends to cause a vibration or chatthe surface of the work and by its inertia overtering of the work, which tendency increases come any tendency to spring away from the. with the heaviness of the cut. This wedging wheel or to vibrate. During the removal of action also causes an uneven wear upon the the greater part of the surplus stock, however,

0 bearing-surface, so that said surface becomes the bearing-block is pressed against the work worn away at the outer edges, allowing the and resists the springing aotion of the 'wheel work to vibrate or chatter more easily. The by an active'pressure, After the proper posi tendency of the work to wedge or crowd tion of the stop has been determined by careagainst the wheel therefore necessitates the ful manipulation during the grinding of the 5 taking of a light cut, and consequently confirst piece successive piecesmay be ground 5 sumption of time in accurately grinding the to a duplicate size without change in the posiwork to size. tion of the stop, as the spring which holds the One object of the present invention is to bearing-block in position will yield to accomovercome this objection to the rests as heretomodate the larger diameter of the rough piece 5o fore constructed and to provide a rest which and will hold the block up to the work as its diameter is reduced by the wheel until when the finishing cut is being taken the active )ressure of the block is taken by the stop and the piece is held in the same manner that the former piece was heldthat is, so that it revolves on its natural axis. Thus each piece will be held and ground in the same manner without any special care on the part of the operator after the rest is adjusted for the first piece. The adjustment will be varied slightly from time to time to compensate for the wear upon the bearing-block.

A further feature of invention relates to a construction of rest whereby said rest may be readily and convenientlychanged and adj usted for different sizes of work.

The further features of invention will be hereinafter referred to, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a rest embodying all the features of the present invention in their preferred forms and also showing so much of a grinding-machine as is necessary to show the application of the rest thereto. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the rest shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on line 3 3, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a modified form of a follow-rest embodying some of the features of the present invention. Fig. 5 is an end view of same, and Figs. (3 and 7 are views of one of the interchangeable bearing-blocks.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3 in detail, A indicates the grinding-wheel of a grinding-machine, and B the table on which the centers for supporting the work C are mounted. The table indicated is provided with a slot D, and the standard 1 of the back rest is provided with a clamping-jaw 2 for engaging said slot. A bolt 3 forms a second clamping-jaw for engaging the outer side of the table and clamp ing said support 1 in position upon the table. The bearing-block t for engaging the work is provided with bearing-surfaces 5 of sufficient extent to bridge over any low parts in the work or keyways or slots which may be cut therein. The bearingblock is so mounted that when the work is sprung off of its natural axis by the action of the wheel the bearing-block will yield in the direction in which the work tends to move under the action of the grinding-wheel, so that there will be no wed ging of the work between the wheel and bearingblock. This is accomplished in the construction shown by mounting the bearingblock so that it will swing on an axis located above the line of centers of the work and grindingwheel. The force exerted upon the work by the grinding-wheel tends to move its axis in a line at an angle of about forty-five degrees to the line of centers, and it is preferred to arrange the axis of the bearing-block so that a line passing through said axis and the center of the work will be at an angle of about forty-five degrees to the line of centers, \Vith the block thus mounted the movement of the bearing-surface is substantially in the direction that the wheel tends to move the work and the block will act to diminislrthe distance through which the axis of the workis deflected without materially affecting the direction in which said axisis deflected. In other words, the movement of the axis under the influence of the wheel and rest will be the same in kind that it would have under the influence of the wheel alone; but said movement will be less in degree. The pressure of the bearing-block will thus hold the work up to the wheel during a heavy out without causing any wed ging of the work and will also serve to prevent any vibration being set up in the work with the result that the work may be finished more rapidly and accurately than heretofore. It will be understood that it is not essential that the bearing-block should be pivoted, as it may be otherwise mounted so that it will carry the work away from the wheel.

In order that the rest may be adapted for work of various diameters, it is preferred to mount the bearing-block in such a manner that it may be readily removed from its support and another block substituted having a bearing-surface of a different diameter. This may be accomplished in various ways, and one convenient wayis to provide the bearing-block with trunnions, as 6, arranged to engage open bearings 7, formed in arms 8, which project on opposite sides of the bearingblock. The bearings, as shown, consist of V- shaped recesses in the ends of arms 8, and the blocks 4 maybe readily changed by merely lifting one block out and dropping a new one in place. The forward position of the bearingblock may be adjusted, and when adjusted said block is yicldingly held in this position or forced toward this position by a spring or springs the tension of which may be adjusted to hold the block more or less firmly in position or against the work, as the circumstances of the case may require. The preferred manner of effecting the adjustment of the bearing-block is that shown; but other arrangements may be used without departing from the invention. As shown, the bearingblock 4 rests against a rod 9, which is screwthreaded and passed through a nut 10. The nut 10 is mounted in a recess 11. and is held from turning by a pin 12, which engages a groove 13 in said nut. The nut is held against an abutment formed by the bottom of the recess 11 by a spring 14, surrounding the rod 9 and interposed between the nut 10 and a sleeve 15, which is screwed into the end of the recess 11. The nut thus forms an adj ustable stop for determining the forward position of the bearing-surfaces 5. The rod 9 passes through the sleeve 15 and is provided with a milled head 16 at its outer end for convenience in turning said rod to adjust the block 4 about its axis. The sleeve 15 is provided with a milled flange 17 at its outer end, and by turning said sleeve the tension of spring 14 may be adjusted to vary the force with which the block 4 is held in or forced toward its forward position. I11 order that the bearing-block may be adjusted to bring the bearing-surface into any desired position, the block is mounted upon. an adjustable carriage 18. The recess 11 is formed in this carriage and the arms 8 are carried thereby. The carriage may be supported in any suitable manner and any suitable means may be used for adjusting the same. In making fine adjustments, such as are necessary in grinding-machines, it is important that the parts to be adjusted should respond to any slight the groove in the carriage.

movement of the adjusting means, and it is desirable, therefore, that the carriage should be subjected to as little friction as possible tending to cause said carriage to stick in any position. In the construction shown there is no lateral friction on the carriage and said carriage responds immediately and accurately to any movement of the adjusting means, and for these reasons this construction is desirable and forms a feature of the present invention. The carriage 18 is provided with a V-shaped groove in its under surface, which rests upon a roller 19, the edge of which is /\-shaped in cross-section and fits The rear end of the carriage is supported by an arm or lever 20, which has its lower end pivoted at 21 to the standard 1 and the upper end pivoted at 22 to the rear of the carriage. By this construction the carriage is supported on oscillating supportsand there is no sliding friction to cause the carriage to stick. The roller 19 is supported between two arms 23, formed on the standard 1, and said arms are provided with ribs 24:, which overlie ribs 25 on the side of carriage 18 and prevent the carriage from falling from between said arms during the handling of the rest when off the machine.

The adjustment of the carriage 18 is efiected by a screw-rod 26, which passes through a hole tapped through the lever 20 and engages an abutment 27 on the standard 1. The screw 26 forms an adjustable stop for limiting the forward movement of the carriage. The carriage is preferably held yieldingly in its forward position, so that the bearing-block may have two yielding movements, and may therefore accommodate itself to the movement of the work in any direction. The means for holding the carriage 18 yieldingly in position consists of a spring 28, which bears againstthe rear side of the lever 20. This spring is mounted on a rod 29, which is pivoted at 30 to the standard l and passes through the lever 20. The rod is screw-threaded at its outer end and carries a nut 31, which bears on the outer end of spring 28 and by which the tension of said spring may be varied as desired.

In using the rest a bearing-block having the bearing-surfaces 5 cut on a radius equal to the radius to which it is desired to grind the rod 6 is placed in the rest, and by manipulating the rods 26 and 9 the bearing-surfaces 5 are brought into proper relation to bear upon the surface of the work, and by manipulating should be such that the work runs in engage- 1 ment with the bearing-surfaces while revolving on its natural axis. Now when the wheel is brought against the work the force of the springs 28 and 14 tends to hold the Work in position to revolve on its natural axis, but allow said work to spring away from the wheel to relieve any increased pressure, as when a high part of the surface of the work comes against the wheel. There is no tendency, however, to press the work off its natural axis toward the wheel. The firm bearing of the block against the work prevents any vibration being set up therein by the action of the Wheel. In grinding duplicate work the rods 9 and 26 are manipulated as successive cuts are taken, so that'when the.

final cut is taken the bearing-surfaces 5 are just in contact with the surface of the rod 0 as it revolves on its natural axis and the rod 26 is against the abutment 27 and nut 10 against the bottom of recess 11. The stops are left in this position when the second rod 0 is inserted, and by reason of its larger diameter this piece will force either rod 26 away from abutment 27 or nut 10 away from the bottom of recess 11, or both, as said piece revolves on its natural axis. Now as the successive cuts are taken the springs will keep the bearing-surface up against the work until the stops limit the forward movement of the bearing-block. time the finishing out should be taken, and the conditions are exactly the same, each time enabling the work to be accurately duplicated. After a number of pieces have been finished the wear upon the bearing-surfaces may be sufficient to require a slight adjustment of the bearing-block.

In Figs. 4 and 5 certain features of the invention are shown embodied in a follow-rest. In these rests the same freedom of movement and delicacy of adjustment are not ordinarily required as in back-rests, and certain features of the invention contributing to themore accurate control of the bearing-surface are omitted in the construction shown in these views. In this case the carriage 18 for supporting the bearing-block 4 and the means for adjusting it about its axis are mounted in ways 32, formed in an arm 33, which occupies a fixed relation to the grinding-wheel. The carriage 18 is adjusted on the arm by means of a screw-rod 34, which engages a hole 35, tapped in the end of arm The rod 34:

passes through a lug 36 on the carriage 18, which lug is held between a collar 37 and milled head 38, secured to said rod. The bearings 7 forthe trunnions 6 are formed in two arms 8 projecting from the end of the carriage, aud'the block 4 rests against a screw- This occurs at thetoo rod 9'. The rod 9' passes through a nut 10', which is mounted in a recess in the carriage and is held from rotation by pin 12 engaging a slot in said nut. A spring 14 surrounds the rod 9' and is interposed between the nut 10 and a screw-threaded sleeve 15, mounted in the carriage 18. The rod 9' passes through the sleeve 15 and is provided with a milled head 16. The sleeve 15 is also provided with a milled head 17, by which said sleeve may be turned to adjust the tension on spring 14. A lever 39 is pivoted to the carriage 18 and has two fingers 40 at its front end for overlying the trunnions 6 and preventing the movement of the rest along the rod 0 or the movement of rod 0 through the rest from tipping said trunnions out of their bearings. A spring 41 presses lever 39 upward and a screw 42 is used to regulate the height of the fingers 40 above the trunnions o.

The manner of adjusting the bearing-surface by manipulating rods 9 and 34; and adjusting the tension on the spring 14 will be understood from the description given in relation to Figs. 1 and 2.

Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination with a support, of a bearingblock mounted thereon and arranged to yield in the direction in which the work tends to move under the action of the grinding-wheel.

2. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination with a support, of a bearingblock mounted thereon and arranged to yield in a line which is at an angle of approximately forty-five degrees to a line passing through the centers of the work and grinding-wheel.

3. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination with a support, of a bearingblock mountedthereon and arranged to yield rearwardly and downwardly.

at. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination with a support, of a bearingblock mounted thereon to yield independently in two directions.

5. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination with a support, of a bearingblock mounted thereon and arranged to yield in the direction in which the work tends to move under the action of the grinding-wheel, a spring for forcing said block forward, and means for adjusting the tension of said spring.

6. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination with a support, of a bearingblock mounted thereon and arranged to yield in the direction in which the work tends to move under the action of the grinding-wheel, a spring for forcing said block forward, and an adjustable stop for controlling the forward position of said block.

7. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination with a support, of a bearingblock mounted thereon, a spring forcing said block forward and an adjustable stop for controlling the forward position of said block.

8. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines,

the combination with a support, of a bearingblock mounted thereon, a spring forcing said block forward, an adjustable stop for controlling the forward position of said block, and means for adjusting the tension of said spring.

9. I11 a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination with a support, of a bearingblock pivoted thereon with its axis above the line connecting the centers of the work and grinding-wheel.

10. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination with asupport, of a bearingblock pivoted thereon with its axis above the line connecting the centers of the work and grinding-wheel, and a spring for forcing said block forward.

11. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination with a support, of a bearingblock pivoted thereon with its axis above the line connecting the centers of the work and grinding-wheel, a spring for forcing said block forward and an adjustable stop for controlling the forward position of said block.

12. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination with a support, of a bearingblock pivoted thereon, with its axis above the line connecting the centers of the work and grinding-wheel, a spring for forcing said block forward, an adjustable stop for controlling the forward position of said block, and means for adjusting the tension of said spring.

13. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination of a carriage, means for moving said carriage to adjust it to and from the work, and a bearing-block adjustably mounted on said carriage.

14. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination of a carriage, means for moving said carriage to adjust it to and from the work, a bearing-block adjustably mounted thereon, and a spring forcing said block forward.

15. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination of a carriage, means for adjusting said carriage to and from the work, a bearingblock mounted on said carriage, an adjustable stop for controlling the forward position of said bearing-block and a spring for forcing said block toward said stop.

16. In a stead y-rest for grinding-machines, the combination of a carriage, means for adjusting said carriage to and from the work, a spring for holding said carriage in its adj usted position, a bearing-block adjustably mounted on said carriage, and a spring for holding said block in its adjusted position.

17. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination of a carriage, means for adjusting said carriage to and from the work, a spring for holding said carriage in its adjusted position, means for adjusting the tension of said spring, a bearing-block mounted on said carriage, means for adjusting said block on said carriage,and a spring for holding said bearing-block in its adjusted position.

18. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines,

the combination of a carriage, means for adjusting said carriage to and from the work, a spring for holding said carriage inits adjusted position, means for adjusting the tension of said spring, a bearing-block mounted on said carriage, means for adjusting said block on said carriage, aspring for holding said bearing-block in its adjusted position, and means for adjusting the tension of said spring.

19. I11 a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination of a carriage, means for adjusting said carriage to and from the work, a bearing-block yieldingly pivoted in said carriage.

20. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination of a carriage, means for moving said carriage to adjust it to and from the work, a bearing-block yieldingly pivoted in said carriage, and means for adjusting said block on its axis.

21. In a steady-rest for grindin g-machines, the combination of a block having a bearingsurface for engaging the work, an adjustable carriage therefor, and oscillating supports for supporting said carriage.

22. In a steady-rest for grinding-m achines, the combination of a bearing-block having a bearing-surface for engaging the work, an adj ustable carriage therefor,oscillatingsupports for supporting said carriage, and a spring for holding said carriage in its adjusted position.

23. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination with a support, of a bearing block removably mounted thereon, and means for yieldingly supporting said block independent of the grinding-wheel.

24. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination with a support, of a rod, a spring for holding said rod in position, a bearingblock removably mounted on said support and resting against said rod.

25. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination with a support, of an adjustable rod, a spring for holding said rod in position, and a bearing-block removably pivoted on said support and resting against said rod. 7

26. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination of a bearing-block, a screwrod engaging said block, a nut on said rod, an abutment for said nut, a spring engaging said nut, and an adjustable sleeve for adjusting the tension of said spring. 1

27. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination of a pivoted bearing-block,

a screw-rod engaging said block, a nut on said rod, an abutment for said nut, a screwthreaded sleeve, and a spring between said sleeve and nut.

28. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination with a carriage, provided with a groove in the bottom thereof, a bear ing-block carried by said carriage, a supporting-roller engaging said groove, a lever pivoted to said carriage, a stop for limiting the forward movement of said carriage, and a spring forcing said carriage forward.

29. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination with a carriage, provided with a groove in the bottom thereof, a bearing-block carried by said carriage, a supporting-roller engaging said groove, a lever pivoted to said carriage, an adjustable stop for limiting the forward movement of said carriage, and a spring forcing said carriage forward.

30. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination with a bearing-block provided with trunnions, a support having open bearings for said trunnions, an adjustable rod for engaging said bearing-block, and a spring for holding said rod in position.

31. In a steady-rest for grinding-machines, the combination with an adjustable carriage, a bearing-block pivoted thereon, a screw-rod 9 carried by said carriage, a nut 10 thereon,- a sleeve 15, and a spring 14 between said nut and sleeve.

32. In a grinding-machine, the combination, of a table, the work-holding device, the grinding mechanism, and a rest for the work mounted to be held under a yielding adjustable tension, and a locking device for securing said rest in a rigid position when desired, substantially as set forth.

33. In a rest for grinding-machines, the

combination of the support, the bearing-block pivoted thereon, an adjustable tension device connected therewith, and means for adjusting said block on its axis, substantially as set forth.

34. A rest for the work of grinding-machines comprising a pivoted part having a bearing-face on one side of its pivot and means for adjusting the rigidity with which it is held to the work connected with its other end, substantially as set forth.

CHARLES H. NORTON.

Witnesses:

IRA L. FIsH, R. A. BATES. 

